The Yreka Miners varsity baseball team booked a return trip to the Northern Section Division 2 title game on Tuesday.
Yreka, the No. 3 seed, took care of business in the semifinals by downing No. 2 seed Lassen 6-0 in Susanville.
Lassen, the champions of the Northern Athletic League, had no answer for fellow NAL member Yreka, which won the NAL crown last season. Now, the Miners are set to face top seed Sutter in the NSCIF Division 2 title game on Saturday.The contest begins at 4 p.m. at Butte College in Oroville.
Junior pitcher Tevin Cadola was lights out for the Miners, as he did not allow a run in a complete game performance. Cadola gave up only four hits and three walks and had six strikeouts in the victory.
“He had command of his curveball,” head coach Jason Freitas said. "He had them off balance.”
Yreka improved to 18-13-2 overall while Lassen ended the year at 22-7. The Grizzlies won two doubleheader games in Susanville and Yreka won a game at home during the regular season.
Freitas was pleased with the way the Miners hit off Grizzlies ace Joey Beck, who came into the game with only one loss after pitching on Friday in a 6-4 first round win versus Anderson. Freitas was happy with with how patient the Miner hitters were in finding the right pitch to hit as Beck threw 65 pitches in three innings. “We had great at bats,” Freitas said.
The Miners scored two runs in the second inning. First, Matt Jespersen scored on a passed ball, with Evan Bosinger scoring the second run. In the third, Yreka continued to get on base, including a single by Christian Charles, who eventually stole second and scored a run. In that inning, Gabe Durney and Cody Hoff also scored a run. In the fourth inning, Cade Parker scored the Miners sixth and final run of the game.
Besides strong hitting and pitching, the Miners also played well on defense, Freitas said, with only one error committed for the game.
Yreka defeated Central Valley 12-2 at home in five innings on Friday to earn a trip to the semifinals.
The Sutter Huskies downed Wheatland 3-1 on Tuesday to improve to 28-3 overall and earn another section title berth. Pitcher Brad Bonnenfant threw a no-hitter for the Huskies.
Last season, Yreka downed Lassen 3-2 in the section semifinals to earn a berth in the title game,
Last year, Sutter downed Yreka for the section title in Division 2, 5-0.
In an interesting side note, Shasta of Redding, who the Miners defeated twice this season, upset topped seeded Foothill on Tuesday and are moving on to the NSCIF Divison 1 title game against Red Bluff on Saturday.